Power in Numbers: Core Power Takes Protein-Packed Dairy to the Masses

Core Power high-protein drinks are produced with fairlife cold-filtered milk.

(Photo Credit: )

We recently introduced you
to Coke’s Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB) unit and explored the team’s approach to
investing in small brands with big potential. Today we hear from the entrepreneur
behind the newest beverage to join the VEB portfolio – Steve Jones of Core
Power – on how partnering with Coke
has enabled the mission-driven brand to go further faster.

Tell us a bit about Core
Power and how Fair
Oaks Farms Brands – its parent company – came to be.

The mission of Fair Oaks Farms Brands is to build a branded
health and wellness platform, powered by the nutrition of dairy, in a wide
portfolio of great-tasting products that allow you to live life to the fullest.
It all starts with responsible agriculture and animal care you can trust. Our
vision is that Fair Oaks Farms Brands will play a leadership role in us having a very healthy
productive planet full of very healthy people as our population expands.

Steve Jones, Core
Power

All great beverage companies start with a great product. And
our great product starts with dairy farming. A few years ago, Mike McCloskey –
a veterinarian with a doctorate in large animal agriculture – had a vision to
produce higher-quality milk by significantly raising the standards for how cows
are raised, fed and treated. He sold his vet practice and bought a dairy farm,
followed by bigger farms, and eventually formed a progressive dairy co-op in
the Southwest. Along the way, he developed and patented a membrane filtration
system. This process allows us to separate the five parts of milk, increase the
good parts like protein and calcium, and reduce the negatives like lactose without
adding preservatives or powders.

When you combine sensational-quality milk with this
proprietary technology, you get Core Power. One of our most distinguishing
qualities is our ingredient list, which is only four lines long. That’s what
makes it taste so great. Core Power is marketed as a high-protein sports
recovery beverage. But athletes are not the only people who need protein. When
we exert ourselves, our muscles lose protein. We need protein to regain
strength and build lean muscle. And since our bodies don’t produce enough
protein, we need to ingest it.

Mike launched the product as Athlete’s HoneyMilk in
2010. I came onboard about that time as an advisor before making a full-time
commitment at the end of 2010. We re-launched the brand under the Core Power name
in 2012 when Coca-Cola Refreshments started distributing the product last July
in Texas, then Colorado. Now we’re in several states in the West, Midwest and
Northeast, and a national rollout is underway.

How did you connect
with VEB?

We were not really seeking funding at the time
because we were, and still are, a very young company. But we quickly realized
that only Coca-Cola could help us do what we hope to do. VEB fully understood
and appreciated the Select Milk Producers story and the potential we have to
transform an old-fashioned category into a high-growth, high-margin business. They
saw an opportunity to get in early on something they believe can become a billion-dollar
brand. And they also recognized that we’re not a one-hit wonder… our technology
enables us to use protein in so many ways and unleash the full nutritional
power of dairy.

What specifically did
Coke bring to the table?

Distribution and marketing are two things all
start-up brands need. We knew that only the Coke system could get Core Power
into the outlets we need to succeed through their reach and customer
relationships. To us, it was an opportunity to go further faster.

In a prior life, you
were chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola and president of The Minute Maid
Company. As a Coke exec-turned-entrepreneur, how would you describe the
company’s evolution?

Coca-Cola has evolved into an informed and
engaged player in the entrepreneurial space. Somewhere along the way, they came
to the realization that while they may not invent the next big thing themselves,
they should be out there discovering opportunities and forming these partnerships
early on. VEB has built a keen understanding and tolerance for the high-risk
nature of the entrepreneurial world. And they’re not only interested in investing
in emerging brands, but also helping the entrepreneurial community at large
become more successful. The VEB team goes to great lengths to help these
entrepreneurs, including many they’ll never partner with.

The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, offering over 500 brands to people in more than 200 countries. Of our 21 billion-dollar brands, 19 are available in lower- or no-sugar options to help people moderate their consumption of added sugar. In addition to our namesake Coca-Cola drinks, some of our leading brands around the world include: AdeS soy-based beverages, Ayataka green tea, Dasani waters, Del Valle juices and nectars, Fanta, Georgia coffee, Gold Peak teas and coffees, Honest Tea, Minute Maid juices, Powerade sports drinks, Simply juices, smartwater, Sprite, vitaminwater, and Zico coconut water. At Coca-Cola, we’re serious about making positive contributions to the world. That starts with reducing sugar in our drinks and continuing to introduce new ones with added benefits. It also means continuously working to reduce our environmental impact, creating rewarding careers for our associates and bringing economic opportunity wherever we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we employ more than 700,000 people around the world.

The fairlife® brand is owned by fairlife, LLC, our joint venture with Select Milk Producers, Inc., and fairlife’s products are distributed by our Company and certain of our bottling partners.